Tuesday, 27 September 2011

On Sunday night, as I sat down to watch the Antique Road show (broadcast by the BBC here in the UK), I was contemplating the next object for my Tea Cup Tuesday post. I have quite a choice, each object with their own story to tell. Then on the program was the fascinating story of a 1902 Royal Commemorative tea cup. I thought that this would make a wonderful Tea Cup Tuesday post, especially for those outside of the UK.

So, here is the synopsis of that story and the guideline price and some photographs that I managed to take while pausing the program.

The Story was that the owner's Grandmother had knitted a blanket to send to King Edward upon his Coronation in 1902. The lady wrote to Buckingham Palace and in time received a response, from the Lady in Waiting to Queen Alexander, that it not correct protocol to receive a gift from a commoner and the Queen would like to purchase the blanket. A letter was returned objecting to accepting payment for the gift. A reply from the Lady in Waiting arrived, with the suggestion that gifts be exchanged between Queen Alexander and the lady in question.

The box was then opened and initially revealed the original wrapping paper sent from Buckingham Palace.

Then the delights from within were revealed....

Then, as the cup was tilted, a surprise revealed

Yes, it is the imprint of the face of Queen Alexander.

Here is the complete set & then the valuation......

The expert valued the set at £30-£40 because so many of this style of cup were made. I have a similar style set HERE. I was surprised at that, simply because that is the value, I would pay now for the cup and saucer, but here we have a piece of social history and quite a story, including the name that the person the gift was given to. Of course, if this was in my family I would never part with it and hopefully this chap (left) will keep it as part of his history.

The key question is, Does the blanket still exist in the Royal Household or in their archives?

Sunday, 25 September 2011

A few weeks ago, I picked up a copy of the Homes and Antiques Magazine published here in the UK. There was an article on King Penguin books. I was intrigued, and much to my husband's dismay I am contemplating collecting the series of books, all 76 of them. King Penguin were published from 1939 to 1959. I have no idea why I feel compelled to collect the set, but I do and if I am honest I probably will. I enjoy not just the book owning, but also the thrill of locating the sought after.

My recent book addition, there has only been one. I have been good on the purchasing front, and just replaced the actual buying books with thinking of buying books! The latest addition was purchased yesterday at the Creative Stitches and Craft Fair at Exeter. Details appear HERE, HERE and HERE!

All the material is of course copyrighted to those who made the amazing pieces on display. I was very taken with several pieces and my only purchase of the day was the book that accompanied the exhibition.

The following photos are snapshots taken by me to show which embroiders were my real favourites and what inspired me to buy the book.

The skill of the people who made these works of art is remarkable. The pieces, once they have finished touring the various craft exhibitions and shows are offered to hospitals and waiting rooms for the benefit of patients on loan and some are returned to their owners or perhaps donated to the archive themselves. Each embroidery was inspired by a particular poem and there is also a small write up as perhaps to why the creator found the poem inspirational or perhaps details as to how it was made.

The Creative Stitches & Hobby Fair has been on in Exeter since Thursday. We visited yesterday, against my better judgement. Work commitments prevented me going on Thursday and Friday. It was, as I predicted packed and getting photos of general views tricky, but we managed it!

The stall holders sold all sorts - wonderful buttons in varying shapes and colours, embroidery and cross stitch pattens, scrap booking material, patchwork, fabrics and much much more. There were also some exhibitions of Lace Making, Embroidery.

The lace making exhibition was remarkable. There was a map indication the various pattens relating to various areas of the UK, so each area was renowned for a particular stitch, which was something I had not realised. I have an ancestor who was reported on the 1841 Census for the Surrey village of Elstead as a lace maker. She would have used bobbins and created pattens, and was paid by piece work. It is very fine work and there was a volunteer on hand to answer questions and show exactly the process.

There was also a display of clothes which have featured in the UK drama Downton Abbey.

There were also embroideries from the Poetry in Stitches exhibition and the West Country Embroiders Postcard exhibition, but more on those later.

Saturday, 24 September 2011

'What tree best represents your family's history? Is your family most like a towering redwood, weeping willow, or a stately oak? Maybe you think of your family more like a brightly lit Christmas tree or a tropical palm'

What a fascinating pondering, this months Carnival of Genealogy is.

My ancestry is diverse, spanning across continents, from my marriage in Kenya in 1994 to my several times Great Uncle, John Hunt Butcher's migration to Tasmania Australia in the early 1800s. To a cousin, Louisa Butcher migrating to Canada In 1903. To my Ellis ancestors migrating to Geelong Victoria Australia on board the James Baines in 1854. To my Elstone ancestors who established their papermaking business in Ontario, having migrated from Hampshire & Sussex borders in 1854.

To my King ancestors making the journey to India in search of future husbands in the Honourable East India Company during the 18th Century.

Three of the King sisters

To the Bellasis & Bowring families, who both spent time in India; and John Bowring who spent time in Hong Kong. To my Cousin who embarked upon a new life in Australia in 1946 and never made the journey home to see his parents.

William James West 1898 - 1918

To my relatives who served in various areas of the military. William West who served during the Zulu Wars and whom lost his first wife in Africa in 1896. To William James West who died in the battlefields of France during the Great War, and my several times Great Grandfather, George Ellis who served for 20 years in the Army & who following receiving wounds was discharged and survived until he was in his 80s.

To my Grandfather who was stationed in Sierra Leone during the Second World War.

George Butcher during World War II

There are many other ancestors & relatives whose time, both in & outside of the UK is still being researched. The adventures, some of which were quite a surprise when they were discovered, and those that are still to be discovered & researched. Some were simply visits & adventures, such as Alfred Elstone to New York in the early 1920s, to my own year long adventures to Australia in the early 1990s. It is those visits, I am sure, that made those who travelled the people they & I became.

Furthermore, my Sicilian ancestry is a huge unknown chapter, which needs & deserves much more research and understanding.

So which tree reflects my ancestry? I don't think a sole tree can reflect it. My ancestry, which I am immensely proud of is reflected in a fictional plantation of trees.

The Butcher family who were wealthy can be described as a solid oak tree whose roots were firmly established in Surrey initially for 300 years. My links to Africa, through my beloved grandfather & our wedding is reflected in the Baobab tree. My Australian lines, are reflected by the Eucalyptus tree, situated in a bed of wattle. My Sicilian heritage reflected in a gathering of olive trees.

The reality is, that these trees, because of the variations in climate would never grow side by side. Yet, I find that this is further reflective of the different lines of my ancestry, across the Centuries & Continents, as these ancestors would never have physically met & walked side by side.

Many of the surnames in my ancestry appear more than once, many lines intermarry & intermingle and this can be perfectly reflected by a weeping willow.

A Christmas tree with sparkling twinkle lights reflects each one of my ancestors, their lives reflected in a beautiful iridescent light, twinkling reminding me of the contribution they each made to my ancestry.

This week I have submitted a different, shorter post, but still tea related. The catalyst for this was being made aware of a website called Koi-Hai which focuses on the historical information of those who spent a lifetime working within the tea growing industry and community.

The site is very interesting, with details of web links to be explored, books to read and directories and photographs.

Sunday, 18 September 2011

Geniaus has created the The Tech Savvy Genealogists Meme, with a list of 50 items. Then John over at TransylvanianDutch extended that original list to 80 items.

Here is how to play:The list should be annotated in the following manner:

Things you have already done or found: bold face typeThings you would like to do or find: italicize (colour optional)

Things you haven’t done or found and don’t care to: plain type

Feel free to add extra comments in brackets after each item

Which of these apply to you?

1. Own an Android or Windows tablet or an iPad (own an iPad)

2. Use a tablet or iPad for genealogy related purposes

3. Use a Kindle, Nook, or other e-reader for genealogy related purposes (use iPad)
4. Have used Skype or Google Video Chat to for genealogy purposes5. Have used a camera to capture images in a library/archives/ancestor's home6. Use a genealogy software program on your computer to manage your family tree7. Use multiple genealogy software programs because they each have different functionalities.8. Have a Twitter account
9. Tweet daily10. Have a genealogy blog
11. Have more than one genealogy blog
12. Have lectured/presented to a genealogy group on a technology topic13. Currently an active member of Genealogy Wise (Still have an account, although have not used it for a while)14. Have a Facebook Account
15. Have connected with genealogists via Facebook
16. Maintain a genealogy related Facebook Page17. Maintain a blog or website for a genealogy society (Not a website, but do for a parish study)
18. Have submitted text corrections online to Ancestry, Trove or a similar site19. Have added content to a Person Page on Fold3 (formerly Footnote)20. Have registered a domain name
21. Post regularly to Google+ (irregularly actually!)

22. Have participated in a genealogy-related Google+ hangout

23. Have a blog listed on Geneabloggers24. Have a blog listed on Cyndi's List

25. Have transcribed/indexed records for FamilySearch or a similar project

26. Have converted a family audiotape to digital27. Have converted a family videotape to digital28. Have converted family movies pre-dating videotape to digital.29. Own a Flip-Pal or hand-held scanner
30. Can code a webpage in .html31. Can code a webpage in .html using Notepad (or any other text-only software)
32. Can write scripts for your webpage in at least one programming language
33. Can write scripts for your webpage in multiple programming languages34. Own a smartphone35. Have a personal subscription to one or more paid genealogy databases
36. Have a local library card that offers you home access to online databases, and you use that access.
37. Use a digital voice recorder to record genealogy lectures38. Have contributed to a genealogy blog carnival

39. Have hosted a genealogy blog carnival

40. Use an Internet Browser that didn’t come installed on your computer41. Have participated in a genealogy webinar (mainly because of time differences & working schedule)
42. Have taken a DNA test for genealogy purposes43. Have a personal genealogy website44. Have found mention of an ancestor in an online newspaper archive
45. Have tweeted during a genealogy lecture
46. Have tweeted during a family reunion47. Have scanned your hardcopy genealogy files (still a work in progress)48. Use an RSS Reader to follow genealogy news and blogs (needs some organising)49. Have uploaded a gedcom file to a site like Geni, MyHeritage or Ancestry
50. Own a netbook51. Use a computer/tablet/smartphone to take genealogy lecture notes52. Have a profile on LinkedIn that mentions your genealogy habit (does not currently mention genealogy!)
53. Have developed a genealogy software program, app or widget54. Have listened to a genealogy podcast online
55. Have downloaded genealogy podcasts for later listening
56. Backup your files to a portable hard drive
57. Have a copy of your genealogy files stored offsite
58. Know about RootsTech59. Have listened to a BlogTalk radio session about genealogy60. Use Dropbox, SugarSync or other service to save documents in the cloud
61. Schedule regular email backups
62. Have contributed to the FamilySearch Wiki63. Have scanned and tagged your genealogy photographs (& still more to go!)

64. Have published a genealogy book in an online/digital format

65. Brought a USB device to a microfilm repository so you could download instead of print.
66. Have a wearable USB device containing important files. (Watch, keychain necklace, etc) (Not wearable, but I carry one with me)
67. Created a map on Google Maps plotting ancestral homes or businesses.

68. Recorded the GPS coordinates for a tombstone, or ancestral home

69. Edited the Wikipedia entry for an ancestor, or their kin

70. Created an entry at FindAGrave for a person71. Created an entry at FindAGrave for a cemetery
72. Uploaded the MediaWiki software (or TikiWiki, or PhpWiki) to your family website.
73. Have downloaded a video (for genealogical purposes) from YouTube or other streaming video site using KeepVid.com, or in some other fashion
74. Have transferred a video from a DVR to your computer for genealogical purposes75. Have participated in a ScanFest76. Have started a Genealogy-related meme at least one other geneablogger participated in.77. Have started a Genealogy-related weekly blogging theme other geneabloggers participated in.

78. Have used Photoshop (or other editing software) to ‘clean up’ an old family photo

79. Done digital scrapbooking
80. Printed out a satellite photo from Google Maps of a cemetery, and marked where a tombstone was located on it.

As I said last week, I wasn't overly hopeful that I had any stamps suitable for following the theme for this week. I looked through my collection, and did not hit jackpot! - I recall giving my non UK stamps to a friend when I was about 10 or so!

So, I was about to resort to finding something that perhaps might fit in with next week's theme early when I remembered that I had an envelope of stamps to send off to the stamp bank. So I opened the envelope and there I did strike it lucky with two stamps from Brasil.

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About Me

I am a Surrey girl, who is very proud of her roots, which go back almost 300 years in Surrey, Sussex and Hampshire. I currently live in the West Country of England, but Surrey is always home! I am also half Italian and thus have an interest in Italian culture and genealogy.

After a career in pharmacy management spanning more than 20 years, I made the decision to look at my options as to where my professional life was heading. I wanted to expand my work portfolio within the training and writing arena; to utilise my historical and research skills along with other qualifications and years of experience. I created The Book of Me, Written by You back in the Autumn of 2012. It threads together the focus of my interests and qualifications. Enabling me to encourage others to think beyond the obvious as we analyse our own lives and those of our close family members.

Copyright

The material, both written and photographic on these pages is the copyright of Julie Goucher & Anglers Rest unless stated. Material on this site may be used for personal reference only. If you wish to use any of the material on this site for other means, please seek the written permission of Julie Goucher & Anglers Rest.